New home construction permits in Massachusetts spiked in April from the same month a year earlier, according to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Cities and towns in the Bay State issued 714 permits in April, up from 399 in April 2009. That’s also up from March, when 532 permits were issued.

There were 479 permits issued for single-family homes in April, compared to 319 in April 2009.

Nationwide, there were 56,330 permits in April, a sharp increase from the 46,536 permits a year earlier.